Multi-layer ceramic electronic component, multi-layer ceramic electronic component mounting substrate, multi-layer ceramic electronic component package, and method of producing a multi-layer ceramic electronic component

ABSTRACT

A multi-layer ceramic electronic component includes: a ceramic body including internal electrodes laminated in a first direction, a first main surface including a first flat region facing in the first direction, and a second main surface including a second flat region facing in the first direction; and a pair of external electrodes connected to the internal electrodes and facing each other in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, a dimension of the ceramic body in the first direction being 1.1 times or more and 1.6 times or less a dimension of the ceramic body in a third direction orthogonal to the first and second directions, the first flat region being formed at a center portion of the first main surface in the second direction, the second flat region being formed at a center portion of the second main surface in the third direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Priority PatentApplication No. 2018-156573, filed Aug. 23, 2018, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponent such as a multi-layer ceramic capacitor, a multi-layer ceramicelectronic component mounting substrate and a multi-layer ceramicelectronic component package that mount the multi-layer ceramicelectronic component, and a method of producing a multi-layer ceramicelectronic component.

In the past, a multi-layer ceramic electronic component such as amulti-layer ceramic capacitor, in which a ceramic body includes aplurality of laminated internal electrodes, has been known. Themulti-layer ceramic electronic component is mounted onto a circuit boardof a personal digital assistant or another electronic device and widelyused.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2015-026841 discloses amulti-layer ceramic capacitor including an element body. The elementbody includes a laminated part configured by alternately laminating aplurality of conductor layers and a plurality of ceramic dielectriclayers and has a shape in which two main surfaces protrude outward suchthat the thickness of the element body becomes largest at the centerportion in the length direction and becomes smallest at both endportions in the length direction and such that the thickness of theelement body becomes largest at the center portion in the widthdirection and becomes smallest at both end portions in the widthdirection.

SUMMARY

In recent years, electronic devices such as personal digital assistantshave increasingly achieved downsizing, and a mounting area for ceramicelectronic components on a circuit board is limited. Meanwhile, there isa demand for improvement in electrical characteristics of multi-layerceramic electronic components, such as increase in capacitance ofmulti-layer ceramic capacitors.

In view of the circumstances as described above, it is desirable toprovide a multi-layer ceramic electronic component, a multi-layerceramic electronic component mounting substrate, a multi-layer ceramicelectronic component package, and a method of producing a multi-layerceramic electronic component, which are capable of improving electricalcharacteristics without increasing a mounting area on a circuit board.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provideda multi-layer ceramic electronic component including a ceramic body anda pair of external electrodes.

The ceramic body includes internal electrodes laminated in a firstdirection, a first main surface including a first flat region facing inthe first direction, and a second main surface including a second flatregion, the second flat region being on a side opposite to the firstflat region and facing in the first direction.

The pair of external electrodes are connected to the internal electrodesand face each other in a second direction orthogonal to the firstdirection.

A dimension of the ceramic body in the first direction is 1.1 times ormore and 1.6 times or less a dimension of the ceramic body in a thirddirection orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction.

The first flat region is formed at a center portion of the first mainsurface in the second direction.

The second flat region is formed at a center portion of the second mainsurface in the third direction.

With this configuration, it is possible to increase the height of theceramic body while maintaining the areas of the main surfaces and toincrease the number of laminated internal electrodes. Therefore, it ispossible to achieve a multi-layer ceramic electronic component capableof improving electrical characteristics without increasing a mountingarea on a circuit board.

Additionally, the ceramic body includes the first flat region formed atthe center portion of the first main surface in the second direction.Accordingly, a suction nozzle for transferring the multi-layer ceramicelectronic component at the time of mounting can come into close contactwith the first flat region and can stably hold the first flat region.Therefore, it is possible to inhibit a failure at the time of mountingfrom occurring in the multi-layer ceramic electronic component. Inaddition, the ceramic body includes the second flat region formed at thecenter portion of the second main surface in the third direction.Accordingly, the multi-layer ceramic electronic component can beinhibited from being inclined when the multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponent is disposed onto a circuit board and in a soldering step.Therefore, it is possible to mount the multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponent and another electronic component at high density.

A dimension of the first flat region in the third direction may be 80%or more and less than 100% of the dimension of the ceramic body in thethird direction.

Further, a dimension of the second flat region in the second directionmay be 80% or more and less than 100% of a dimension of the ceramic bodyin the second direction.

Accordingly, it is possible to further increase the stability of suctionat the time of mounting of the multi-layer ceramic electronic componentand the stability of a posture of the multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponent on the circuit board and to more reliably inhibit occurrenceof a failure.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided a multi-layer ceramic electronic component mounting substrateincluding a circuit board and a multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponent.

The multi-layer ceramic electronic component includes a ceramic bodyincluding internal electrodes laminated in a first direction, and a pairof external electrodes connected to the internal electrodes and facingeach other in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, themulti-layer ceramic electronic component being mounted onto the circuitboard via the pair of external electrodes.

A dimension of the ceramic body in the first direction is 1.1 times ormore and 1.6 times or less a dimension of the ceramic body in a thirddirection orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction.

The ceramic body includes a first main surface including a first flatregion facing in the first direction, and a second main surfaceincluding a second flat region, the second flat region being on a sideopposite to the first flat region and facing in the first direction.

The first flat region is formed at a center portion of the first mainsurface in the second direction.

The second flat region is formed at a center portion of the second mainsurface in the third direction.

The multi-layer ceramic electronic component is mounted onto the circuitboard such that the second flat region faces the circuit board in thefirst direction and that the first flat region faces upward in the firstdirection.

Additionally, the multi-layer ceramic electronic component mountingsubstrate may further include multi-layer ceramic electronic componentseach including the ceramic body and the pair of external electrodes.

In this case, the multi-layer ceramic electronic components are to bemounted onto the circuit board along the third direction at intervals of30% or less of the dimension of the ceramic body in the third direction.

The multi-layer ceramic electronic component configured as describedabove includes the flat region on each of the first main surface and thesecond main surface, and can thus increase the stability of the postureof the multi-layer ceramic electronic component at the time of mounting.Accordingly, it is possible to mount the multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponents on the circuit board at high density.

The multi-layer ceramic electronic component is placed onto the circuitboard with the first flat region formed at the center portion in thesecond direction being held by suction by a suction nozzle in the firstdirection. Accordingly, in the multi-layer ceramic electronic componentmounting substrate, the multi-layer ceramic electronic component ismounted onto the circuit board such that the first flat region formed atthe center portion in the second direction faces upward in the firstdirection and that the second flat region formed at the center portionin the third direction faces downward in the first direction.

According to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, thereis provided a multi-layer ceramic electronic component package includinga multi-layer ceramic electronic component, a housing portion, and asealing portion.

The multi-layer ceramic electronic component includes a ceramic body anda pair of external electrodes and is to be mounted onto a circuit boardvia the pair of external electrodes.

The ceramic body includes internal electrodes laminated in a firstdirection, a first main surface including a first flat region facing inthe first direction, and a second main surface including a second flatregion, the second flat region being on a side opposite to the firstflat region and facing in the first direction.

The pair of external electrodes are connected to the internal electrodesand face each other in a second direction orthogonal to the firstdirection.

A dimension of the ceramic body in the first direction is 1.1 times ormore and 1.6 times or less a dimension of the ceramic body in a thirddirection orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction.

The first flat region is formed at a center portion of the first mainsurface in the second direction.

The second flat region is formed at a center portion of the second mainsurface in the third direction.

The housing portion includes a recess that houses the multi-layerceramic electronic component and that includes a take-out opening.

The sealing portion covers the take-out opening of the recess.

The multi-layer ceramic electronic component is housed in the recesswith the first flat region being faced to the take-out opening.

With this configuration, when the sealing portion is peeled off, thefirst flat region is to be exposed from the take-out opening. Therefore,it is possible to cause the suction nozzle to come into close contactwith the first flat region without changing the posture of themulti-layer ceramic electronic component, and smoothly mount themulti-layer ceramic electronic component.

According to yet still another embodiment of the present disclosure,there is provided a method of producing a multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponent, the method including: forming an internal electrode patternhaving a predetermined thickness on an unsintered ceramic sheet; forminga dielectric pattern in an electrode non-formation region around theinternal electrode pattern on the ceramic sheet such that the dielectricpattern occupies 75% or more and less than 100% of a space portionfacing the electrode non-formation region and having the predeterminedthickness; laminating in a first direction the ceramic sheets on each ofwhich the internal electrode pattern and the dielectric pattern areformed, and thereby forming a ceramic body including a plurality ofinternal electrodes laminated in the first direction; and forming a pairof external electrodes that are connected to the plurality of internalelectrodes and face each other in a second direction orthogonal to thefirst direction, a dimension of the ceramic body in the first directionbeing 1.1 times or more and 1.6 times or less a dimension of the ceramicbody in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and thesecond direction.

Accordingly, not only the internal electrode pattern but also thedielectric pattern are formed on each ceramic sheet. When the dielectricpattern is formed to occupy 75% or more of the space portion, thelaminated ceramic sheets can be inhibited from sinking down into gapsbetween the internal electrode patterns and the dielectric patterns.Accordingly, also in a ceramic body including a lot of laminated ceramicsheets, variations in height dimension for each region can besuppressed, and the flat region can be formed on each of the first mainsurface and the second main surface. Further, when the dielectricpattern is formed to be less than 100% of the space portion, it ispossible to inhibit the dielectric pattern from overlapping with theinternal electrode pattern if the dielectric pattern is slightlydisplaced with respect to the internal electrode pattern. This can alsosuppress variations in height dimension in the ceramic body and form theflat region.

As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possbileto provide a multi-layer ceramic electronic component, a multi-layerceramic electronic component mounting substrate, a multi-layer ceramicelectronic component package, and a method of producing a multi-layerceramic electronic component, which are capable of improving electricalcharacteristics without increasing a mounting area on a circuit board.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become more apparent in light of the following detaileddescription of embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multi-layer ceramic capacitoraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the multi-layer ceramic capacitortaken along the A-A′ line in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the multi-layer ceramic capacitortaken along the B-B′ line in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a microstructure of a cross section of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method of producing the multi-layerceramic capacitor;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are each a plan view showing a production process of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor;

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor taken along the C-C′ line of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 9 and a viewfor describing Step S02 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a production process of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a production process of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a multi-layer ceramic capacitor packageaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the package taken along the D-D′line in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a step ofmounting the multi-layer ceramic capacitor;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-layer ceramic capacitormounting substrate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a side view of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor mountingsubstrate;

FIG. 18 is a side view of a multi-layer ceramic capacitor mountingsubstrate according to Comparative example of the embodiment; and

FIG. 19 is a view showing a configuration example of a multi-layerceramic capacitor mounting substrate including a plurality ofmulti-layer ceramic capacitors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

In the figures, an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis orthogonal to oneanother are shown as appropriate. The X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axisare common in all figures.

1. BASIC CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LAYER CERAMIC CAPACITOR 10

FIGS. 1 to 3 each show a multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofthe multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional viewof the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 taken along the A-A′ line inFIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10 taken along the B-B′ line in FIG. 1.

The multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 includes a ceramic body 11, a firstexternal electrode 14, and a second external electrode 15.

Typically, the ceramic body 11 has two end surfaces 11 a and 11 b facingin an X-axis direction, two side surfaces 11 c and 11 d facing in aY-axis direction, and two main surfaces 11 e and 11 f facing in a Z-axisdirection. Ridges connecting the respective surfaces of the ceramic body11 are chamfered.

It should be noted that the shape of the ceramic body 11 is not limitedto the above shape. In other words, the ceramic body 11 does not need tohave the rectangular shape as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The first external electrode 14 and the second external electrode 15 areconfigured to face each other in the X-axis direction and torespectively cover both the end surfaces 11 a and 11 b of the ceramicbody 11. The first external electrode 14 and the second externalelectrode 15 extend to the four surfaces connected to both the endsurfaces 11 a and 11 b, i.e., the two main surfaces 11 e and 11 f andthe two side surfaces 11 c and 11 d. With this configuration, both ofthe first external electrode 14 and the second external electrode 15have U-shaped cross sections parallel to the X-Z plane and the X-Yplane.

The ceramic body 11 includes a multi-layer unit 16 and covers 17. Themulti-layer unit 16 has a configuration in which first internalelectrodes 12 and second internal electrodes 13 are alternatelylaminated in the Z-axis direction via ceramic layers 18. The covers 17cover an upper surface and a lower surface of the multi-layer unit 16 inthe Z-axis direction.

The first internal electrodes 12 and the second internal electrodes 13are alternately laminated in the Z-axis direction via the ceramic layers18. The first internal electrodes 12 are drawn to the end surface 11 ato be connected to the first external electrode 14 and are apart fromthe second external electrode 15. The second internal electrodes 13 aredrawn to the end surface 11 b to be connected to the second externalelectrode 15 and are apart from the first external electrode 14.

Further, the first and second internal electrodes 12 and 13 are notdrawn to the side surfaces 11 c and 11 d. Accordingly, side margins madeof dielectric ceramics are formed on the sides of the side surfaces 11 cand 11 d of the multi-layer unit 16.

Typically, the first and second internal electrodes 12 and 13 mainlycontain nickel (Ni) and function as internal electrodes of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10. It should be noted that the first andsecond internal electrodes 12 and 13 may contain at least one of copper(Cu), silver (Ag), or palladium (Pd) as a main component, other thannickel.

Each of the ceramic layers 18 is disposed between the first internalelectrode 12 and the second internal electrode 13 and is made ofdielectric ceramics. In order to increase the capacitance of themulti-layer unit 16, the ceramic layer 18 is made of dielectric ceramicshaving a high dielectric constant.

For the dielectric ceramics having a high dielectric constant,polycrystal of a barium titanate (BaTiO₃) based material, i.e.,polycrystal having a Perovskite structure containing barium (Ba) andtitanium (Ti) is used. This provides the multi-layer ceramic capacitor10 with a large capacitance.

It should be noted that the ceramic layer 18 may be made of a strontiumtitanate (SrTiO₃) based material, a calcium titanate (CaTiO₃) basedmaterial, a magnesium titanate (MgTiO₃) based material, a calciumzirconate (CaZrO₃) based material, a calcium zirconate titanate(Ca(Zr,Ti)O₃) based material, a barium zirconate (BaZrO₃) basedmaterial, a titanium oxide (TiO₂) based material, or the like.

The covers 17 are also made of dielectric ceramics. The material of thecovers 17 only needs to be insulating ceramics, but use of thedielectric ceramics similar to the dielectric ceramics of the ceramiclayers 18 leads to suppression of internal stress in the ceramic body11.

With such a configuration, when a voltage is applied between the firstexternal electrode 14 and the second external electrode 15 in themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10, the voltage is applied to theplurality of ceramic layers 18 between the first internal electrodes 12and the second internal electrodes 13. Thus, the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10 stores charge corresponding to the voltage applied betweenthe first external electrode 14 and the second external electrode 15.

It should be noted that the basic configuration of the multi-layerceramic capacitor 10 according to this embodiment is not limited to theconfiguration shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and can be changed as appropriate.

2. DETAILED CONFIGURATION OF CERAMIC BODY

As shown in FIG. 3, the ceramic body 11 is characterized in that aheight dimension T in the Z-axis direction is 1.1 times or more and 1.6times or less a width dimension W in the Y-axis direction. This canincrease the number of laminated first and second internal electrodes 12and 13 and increase the capacitance of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor10 without increasing a cross-sectional area of the ceramic body 11 inthe X-Y plane.

Here, the height dimension T of the ceramic body 11 means a dimensionalong the Z-axis direction at the center portion of the ceramic body 11in the Y-axis direction, on a Y-Z cross section (see FIG. 3) that is cutat the center portion of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 in theX-axis direction. In this embodiment, the height dimension T can bedefined by a relationship between the width dimension W and a lengthdimension L to be described later.

The width dimension W of the ceramic body 11 means a dimension along theY-axis direction at the center portion of the ceramic body 11 in theZ-axis direction, on the Y-Z cross section (see FIG. 3) that is cut atthe center portion of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 in the X-axisdirection. The width dimension W is not particularly limited and can beset to, for example, 0.10 mm or more and 1.50 mm or less.

The length dimension L of the ceramic body 11 may be larger than 1.0times and equal to or smaller than 1.5 times the height dimension T.This can increase the height dimension T and increase the capacitancewithout increasing the mounting area for the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10 and allows handling at the time of manufacturing ormounting to be described later to be smoothly performed.

The length dimension L of the ceramic body 11 means a dimension alongthe X-axis direction at the center portion of the ceramic body 11 in theZ-axis direction, on the X-Z cross section (see FIG. 2) that is cut atthe center portion of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 in the Y-axisdirection. The length dimension L is not particularly limited and can beset to, for example, 0.20 mm or more and 2.00 mm or less.

In order to further increase the number of layers of the first andsecond internal electrodes 12 and 13 and increase the capacitance of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10, the thickness of the cover 17 may bereduced. As an example, the dimension (thickness) of the cover 17 in theZ-axis direction may be 15 μm or less.

In order to further increase the capacitance of the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10, the thickness of each ceramic layer 18 between the firstand second internal electrodes 12 and 13 may be reduced. For example, amean dimension (mean thickness) of the ceramic layers 18 in the Z-axisdirection may be set to, for example, 1.0 μm or less or further 0.5 μmor less.

It should be noted that the mean thickness of the ceramic layers 18 canbe calculated as a mean value of the thicknesses measured at a pluralityof sites of the ceramic layers 18. A position at which the thickness ofthe ceramic layer 18 is to be measured or the number of positions may beoptionally determined. Hereinafter, an example of a method of measuringa mean thickness T of the ceramic layers 18 will be described withreference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a microstructure of a cross section of theceramic body 11, which is observed in the visual field of 12.6 μm×8.35μm with a scanning electron microscope. For each of the six ceramiclayers 18 within the visual field, the thickness is measured at fivesites indicated by the arrows arranged at equal intervals of 2 μm. Amean value of the thicknesses obtained at the 30 sites can be set as amean thickness.

In such a manner, in the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 of thisembodiment, the height dimension T can be increased and a large numberof first and second internal electrodes 12 and 13 can be laminatedwithout increasing the mounting area, and thus a large capacitance canbe achieved.

Meanwhile, in the past, the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 has beendifficult to handle at the time of mounting, and it has been difficultto achieve a multi-layer ceramic capacitor in which the height dimensionT is larger than the width dimension W.

In this regard, in the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 of thisembodiment, one main surface (first main surface) 11 e includes a firstflat region F1 facing in the Z-axis direction, and the other mainsurface (second main surface) 11 f includes a second flat region F2,which is on the side opposite to the first flat region F1 and faces inthe Z-axis direction. With this configuration, as will be describedlater, handleability at the time of mounting can be improved even if theheight dimension T is larger than the width dimension W.

The first flat region F1 is a flat region that is formed at the centerportion of the main surface 11 e in the X-axis direction. The secondflat region F2 is a flat region that is formed at the center portion ofthe main surface 11 f in the Y-axis direction. Peripheral portions ofeach of the main surfaces 11 e and 11 f are positioned outward in theX-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of those center portions andhave curved surfaces extending from the first flat region F1 and thesecond flat region F2.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3. The first flat region F1will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

It is assumed that a first imaginary line L1 and a second imaginary lineL2 are defined on the Y-Z cross section of the ceramic body 11, thefirst imaginary line L1 passes through the center point C of the mainsurface 11 e in the Y-axis direction and orthogonally intersects withthe Z-axis direction (the first imaginary line L1 is parallel to theY-axis direction), and the second imaginary line L2 is parallel to thefirst imaginary line L1 and has an interval from the first imaginaryline L1, the interval being 1% of the height dimension T of the ceramicbody 11 (T*0.01). In this case, the first flat region F1 means a regionbetween two points at which the second imaginary line L2 and the mainsurface 11 e intersect with each other. “The center point C of the mainsurface 11 e in the Y-axis direction” described herein means the centerof the width dimension of the main surfaces 11 e along the Y-axisdirection. FIG. 5 shows the center point C of the main surface 11 e inthe Y-axis direction by an arrow and shows the first imaginary line L1and the second imaginary line L2 by thick chain lines.

When the first flat region F1 is defined as described above, a widthdimension Wf of the first flat region F1 along the Y-axis directioncorresponds to a distance along the Y-axis direction between the twopoints at which the second imaginary line L2 and the main surface 11 eintersect with each other. The width dimension Wf of the first flatregion F1 can be set to be 80% or more and less than 100% of the widthdimension W of the ceramic body 11. This allows the width dimension Wfof the first flat region F1 to be sufficiently ensured and allowshandleability at the time of mounting to be further improved.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2. The second flat region F2will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

It is assumed that a third imaginary line L3 and a fourth imaginary lineL4 are defined on the X-Z cross section at the center portion of theceramic body 11 in the Y-axis direction, the third imaginary line L3passes through the center point C′ of the main surface 11 f in theX-axis direction and orthogonally intersects with the Z-axis direction(the third imaginary line L3 is parallel to the X-axis direction), andthe fourth imaginary line L4 is parallel to the third imaginary line L3and has an interval from the third imaginary line L3, the interval being1% of the height dimension T of the ceramic body 11 (T*0.01). In thiscase, the second flat region F2 means a region between two points atwhich the fourth imaginary line L4 and the main surface 11 f intersectwith each other. “The center point C′ of the main surface 11 f in theX-axis direction” described herein means the center of the lengthdimension of the main surface 11 f along the X-axis direction. FIG. 6shows the center point C′ of the main surface 1 if in the X-axisdirection by an arrow and shows the third imaginary line L3 and thefourth imaginary line L4 by thick chain double-dashed lines.

When the second flat region F2 is defined as described above, a lengthdimension Lf of the second flat region F2 along the X-axis directioncorresponds to a distance along the X-axis direction between the twopoints at which fourth imaginary line L4 and the main surface 11 fintersect with each other. The length dimension Lf of the second flatregion F2 can be set to be 80% or more and less than 100% of the lengthdimension L of the ceramic body 11. This allows the second flat regionF2 to be extended to the peripheral portions of the ceramic body 11 inthe X-axis direction, and allows the first external electrode 14 and thesecond external electrode 15 to be formed on the second flat region F2.Therefore, the posture of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 at thetime of mounting can be stabilized and handleability can be furtherimproved.

The multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 including the first flat region F1and the second flat region F2 can be produced by the followingproduction method.

3. METHOD OF PRODUCING MULTI-LAYER CERAMIC CAPACITOR 10

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method of producing the multi-layerceramic capacitor 10. FIGS. 8A to 12 are views each showing a productionprocess of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10. Hereinafter, the methodof producing the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 will be describedalong FIG. 7 with reference to FIGS. 8A to 12 as appropriate.

3.1 Step S01: Formation of Internal Electrode Pattern

In Step S01, first internal electrode patterns 112 and second internalelectrode patterns 113 are respectively formed on first ceramic sheets101 and second ceramic sheets 102 for forming the multi-layer unit 16.

The first and second ceramic sheets 101 and 102 are configured asunsintered dielectric green sheets mainly containing dielectricceramics. For the dielectric ceramics, powder having a particle diameterof, for example, 20 nm to 200 nm can be used. The first and secondceramic sheets 101 and 102 are each formed into a sheet shape by using aroll coater or a doctor blade, for example. The thickness of each of thefirst and second ceramic sheets 101 and 102 is not limited, but it isadjusted to have 1.5 μm or less, for example.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are plan views of the first ceramic sheet 101 and thesecond ceramic sheet 102, respectively. At this stage, the first andsecond ceramic sheets 101 and 102 are each formed into a large-sizedsheet that is not singulated. FIGS. 8A and 8B each show cutting lines Lxand Ly to be used when the sheets are singulated into the multi-layerceramic capacitors 10. The cutting lines Lx are parallel to the X axis,and the cutting lines Ly are parallel to the Y axis.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the unsintered first internal electrodepatterns 112 corresponding to the first internal electrodes 12 areformed on the first ceramic sheet 101, and the unsintered secondinternal electrode patterns 113 corresponding to the second internalelectrodes 13 are formed on the second ceramic sheet 102.

The first internal electrode patterns 112 and the second internalelectrode patterns 113 can be formed by applying an optionalelectrically conductive paste to the first ceramic sheets 101 and thesecond ceramic sheets 102, respectively. A method of applying theelectrically conductive paste can be optionally selected from well-knowntechniques. For example, for the application of the electricallyconductive paste, a screen printing method or a gravure printing methodcan be used.

Each of the first internal electrode patterns 112 on the first ceramicsheets 101 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape that crossesone cutting line Ly1 or Ly2 and extends in the X-axis direction. Thefirst internal electrode patterns 112 are cut on the cutting lines Ly1,Ly2, and Lx, thus forming the first internal electrodes 12 of themulti-layer ceramic capacitors 10. The first internal electrode pattern112 on the cutting line Ly1 or Ly2 corresponds to a drawn portion to beexposed on the end surface 11 a.

In the first ceramic sheet 101, a first column including the firstinternal electrode patterns 112 that extend across the cutting lines Ly1and are disposed along the X-axis direction, and a second columnincluding the first internal electrode patterns 112 that extend acrossthe cutting lines Ly2 and are disposed along the X-axis direction arearranged alternately in the Y-axis direction. In the first column, thefirst internal electrode patterns 112 adjacent to each other in theX-axis direction face each other while sandwiching the cutting line Ly2therebetween. In the second column, the first internal electrodepatterns 112 adjacent to each other in the X-axis direction face eachother while sandwiching the cutting line Ly1 therebetween. In otherwords, the first internal electrode patterns 112 are displaced by onechip in the X-axis direction between the first column and the secondcolumn adjacent to each other in the Y-axis direction.

The second internal electrode patterns 113 on the second ceramic sheets102 are configured to be similar to the first internal electrodepatterns 112. However, in the second ceramic sheet 102, the secondinternal electrode patterns 113 in a column corresponding to the firstcolumn of the first ceramic sheet 101 extend across the cutting linesLy2, and the second internal electrode patterns 113 in a columncorresponding to the second column of the first ceramic sheet 101 extendacross the cutting lines Ly1. In other words, the second internalelectrode patterns 113 are displaced from the first internal electrodepatterns 112 by one chip in the X-axis direction or the Y-axisdirection.

An electrode non-formation region N is a region in which the first andsecond internal electrode patterns 112 and 113 are not formed on thefirst and second ceramic sheets 101 and 102. In the first ceramic sheet101, the electrode non-formation region N includes a plurality ofbelt-like regions extending along the cutting lines Ly1 and Ly2 betweenthe first internal electrode patterns 112 adjacent to each other in theX-axis direction, and a plurality of belt-like regions extending alongthe cutting lines Lx between the first internal electrode patterns 112adjacent to each other in the Y-axis direction. The electrodenon-formation region N is formed in a lattice pattern as a whole, inwhich those belt-like regions are alternately crossed. The electrodenon-formation region N corresponds to side margins and end margins ofthe multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10.

The electrode non-formation region N in the second ceramic sheet 102 isalso formed in a similar manner.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the C-C′line of FIG. 8A.

In FIG. 9, the internal electrode patterns 112 (113) each having apredetermined thickness d1 are formed on the ceramic sheet 101 (102).The thickness d1 of the internal electrode patterns 112 (113) is a meanthickness of the internal electrode patterns 112 and can be calculatedas, for example, a mean value of the thicknesses measured at a pluralityof sites as in the case of the mean thickness of the ceramic layers 18.

A space portion S sandwiched between the adjacent internal electrodepatterns 112 (113) is formed in the electrode non-formation region N.The space portion S is a space region having a thickness d1 and facingthe electrode non-formation region N. In other words, the space portionS has a volume obtained by multiplying the area of the electrodenon-formation region N by the thickness d1. FIGS. 9 and 10 each show thespace portion S surrounded by a thick broken line.

3.2 Step S02: Formation of Dielectric Pattern

In Step S02, a dielectric pattern P is formed in the electrodenon-formation region N around the first internal electrode patterns 112on the first ceramic sheet 101 and around the second internal electrodepatterns 113 on the second ceramic sheet 102.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the same position as that of FIG. 9and shows a state in which the dielectric pattern P is formed in thespace portion S.

The dielectric pattern P can be formed by applying a ceramic paste tothe electrode non-formation region N of the ceramic sheet 101 (102). Theceramic paste only needs to mainly contain dielectric ceramics, but useof dielectric ceramics similar to that of the first and second ceramicsheets 101 and 102 leads to suppression of internal stress at the timeof sintering. For the application of the ceramic paste, a screenprinting method or a gravure printing method can be used, for example.

In this embodiment, the dielectric pattern P is formed to occupy 75% ormore and less than 100% of the space portion S. In other words, thevolume of the dielectric pattern P is 75% or more and less than 100% ofthe volume of the space portion S, the volume of the space portion Sbeing obtained by multiplying the area of the electrode non-formationregion N by the thickness d1 of the internal electrode pattern 112(113).

A mean thickness of the dielectric pattern P only needs to be equal toor smaller than the thickness d1 of the space portion S. For example,the mean thickness of the dielectric pattern P may be 80% or more and100% or less when the thickness d1 is assumed as 100%. The meanthickness of the dielectric pattern P can be a mean value measured in asimilar manner to the case where the thicknesses of the first and secondinternal electrode patterns 112 and 113 are measured.

The ceramic sheet 101 (102) may have gaps Q, in which the dielectricpattern P is not formed, around the internal electrode patterns 112(113). When the gaps Q between the internal electrode patterns 112 (113)and the dielectric pattern P are provided, the dielectric pattern P canbe inhibited from being formed on the internal electrode patterns 112(113).

3.3 Step S03: Lamination

In Step S03, the first and second ceramic sheets 101 and 102 prepared inSteps S01 and S02 and third ceramic sheets 103 are laminated as shown inFIG. 11, to produce a multi-layer sheet 104. The third ceramic sheet 103is a ceramic sheet on which the first and second internal electrodepatterns 112 and 113 and the dielectric pattern P are not formed. Itshould be noted that FIG. 11 omits the illustration of the gaps Q.

The multi-layer sheet 104 includes a laminated electrode sheet 105 andtwo laminated cover sheets 106. The first ceramic sheets 101 and thesecond ceramic sheets 102 are alternately laminated in the Z-axisdirection in the laminated electrode sheet 105. Only the third ceramicsheets 103 are laminated in the laminated cover sheet 106. The twolaminated cover sheets 106 are provided on the upper surface and thelower surface of the laminated electrode sheet 105 in the Z-axisdirection. The laminated electrode sheet 105 corresponds to themulti-layer unit 16 after sintering. The laminated cover sheets 106correspond to the covers 17 after sintering.

The number of first and second ceramic sheets 101 and 102 to belaminated in the laminated electrode sheet 105 is adjusted so as toobtain a desired capacitance and a desired height dimension T aftersintering.

The number of third ceramic sheets 103 to be laminated in the laminatedcover sheet 106 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 11 and isadjusted as appropriate.

The multi-layer sheet 104 is integrated by pressure-bonding the first,second, and third ceramic sheets 101, 102, and 103. For thepressure-bonding of the first, second, and third ceramic sheets 101,102, and 103, for example, hydrostatic pressing or uniaxial pressing isfavorably used. This makes it possible to obtain a high-densitymulti-layer sheet 104.

3.4 Step S04: Cutting

In Step S04, the multi-layer sheet 104 obtained in Step S03 is cut alongthe cutting lines Lx and Ly, to produce an unsintered ceramic body 111.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the ceramic body 111 obtained in StepS04.

As shown in FIG. 12, the unsintered ceramic body 111 has two endsurfaces 111 a and 111 b facing in the X-axis direction, two sidesurfaces 111 c and 111 d facing in the Y-axis direction, and two mainsurfaces 111 e and 111 f facing in the Z-axis direction. A cut portioncorresponding to the laminated electrode sheet 105 is formed as anunsintered multi-layer unit 116. Cut portions corresponding to thelaminated cover sheets 106 are formed as unsintered covers 117.

The unsintered ceramic body 111 has such an outer shape that the heightdimension T in the Z-axis direction is 1.1 times or more and 1.6 timesor less the width dimension in the Y-axis direction after sintering.Further, the main surface 111 e includes an unsintered first flat regionFu1, and the main surface 111 f includes an unsintered second flatregion Fu2. The unsintered first flat region Fu1 and the unsinteredsecond flat region Fu2 are defined in a manner similar to the first flatregion F1 and the second flat region F2. A width dimension of the firstflat region Fu1 in the Y-axis direction can be set to 80% or more andless than 100% of the width dimension of the unsintered ceramic body111, as in the case of the first flat region F1. Similarly, a lengthdimension of the unsintered second flat region Fu2 in the X-axisdirection can be set to 80% or more and less than 100% of the lengthdimension of the unsintered ceramic body 111, as in the case of thesecond flat region F2. It should be noted that the unsintered ceramicbody 111 may be chamfered by barrel polishing or the like after thecutting. In such a case, barrel polishing is performed such that thewidth dimension of the first flat region Fu1 and the length dimension ofthe second flat region Fu2 fall within the ranges described above.

3.5 Step S05: Sintering

In Step S05, the unsintered ceramic body 111 obtained in Step S04 issintered, to produce the ceramic body 11 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In otherwords, in Step S05, the multi-layer unit 116 becomes the multi-layerunit 16, and the covers 117 become the covers 17. Sintering can beperformed in a reduction atmosphere or a low-oxygen partial pressureatmosphere, for example.

3.6 Step S06: Formation of External Electrode

In Step S06, the first external electrode 14 and the second externalelectrode 15 are formed on the ceramic body 11 obtained in Step S05, toproduce the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

In Step S06, first, an unsintered electrode material is applied so as tocover one of the end surfaces of the ceramic body 11 that face in theX-axis direction, and then applied so as to cover the other end surfaceof the ceramic body 11 that faces in the X-axis direction. Theunsintered electrode material applied to the ceramic body 11 is baked ina reduction atmosphere or a low-oxygen partial pressure atmosphere, forexample, to form base films on the ceramic body 11. On the base filmsbaked onto the ceramic body 11, intermediate films and surface films areformed by plating such as electrolytic plating, thus completing thefirst external electrode 14 and the second external electrode 15.

It should be noted that part of the processing in Step S06 describedabove may be performed before Step S05. For example, before Step S05,the unsintered electrode material may be applied to both the endsurfaces of the unsintered ceramic body 111 that face in the X-axisdirection, and in Step S05, the unsintered ceramic body 111 may besintered and, simultaneously, the unsintered electrode material may bebaked to form the base films of the first external electrode 14 and thesecond external electrode 15. Alternatively, the unsintered electrodematerial may be applied to the ceramic body 111 that has been subjectedto debinder processing, to simultaneously sinter the unsinteredelectrode material and the ceramic body 111.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the ceramic body 11 thus produced has theheight dimension T in the Z-axis direction, which is 1.1 times or moreand 1.6 times or less the width dimension W in the Y-axis direction, andincludes the first flat region F1 and the second flat region F2. In StepS02, the first flat region F1 and the second flat region F2 are eachformed by forming the dielectric pattern P that occupies 75% or more andless than 100% of the space portion S.

If the dielectric pattern is not formed, a capacitance forming portionin which the internal electrode patterns are laminated, and a sidemargin portion and an end margin portion in each of which the electrodenon-formation regions are laminated, have a difference in heightdimension in the Z-axis direction due to the thicknesses of the internalelectrode patterns. Additionally, as the number of laminated ceramicsheets becomes larger, that is, as the height dimension of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor becomes larger, the difference in heightdimension in the Z-axis direction between the above-mentioned portionsbecomes larger. For that reason, in the ceramic body obtained bypressure-bonding and cutting the laminated ceramic sheets, the heightdimension gradually increases from the peripheral portions in the X- andY-axis directions toward the center portions in the X- and Y-axisdirections, and the main surfaces are formed as curved surfacesprotruding in the Z-axis direction.

Further, if the dielectric pattern is intended to be formed on theentire electrode non-formation region N (i.e., in a state of occupying100% of the space portion), even with a slight displacement of thedielectric pattern, the dielectric pattern overlaps with the internalelectrode patterns. Accordingly, the thickness of the overlappingportion is increased, and the height of the ceramic body in the Z-axisdirection becomes uneven.

Meanwhile, when the proportion of the dielectric pattern occupying thespace portion is less than 75%, a gap between the internal electrodepattern and the dielectric pattern becomes larger. As a result, thelaminated ceramic sheets sink down into the gaps at the time ofpressure-bonding, and the height of the ceramic body in the Z-axisdirection becomes uneven again.

In this embodiment, the dielectric pattern P is formed so as to occupy75% or more of the space portion S, and thus the gaps Q can be madesmall to such an extent that the ceramic sheets laminated in Step S03 donot sink down into the gaps Q. Accordingly, the height of the electrodesheet 105 in the Z-axis direction can be formed to be uniform, and thefirst flat region Fu1 and the second flat region Fu2 are formed in theunsintered ceramic body 111. Therefore, the first flat region F1 and thesecond flat region F2 are also formed in the sintered ceramic body 11.

Further, the dielectric pattern P is formed so as to occupy a portionless than 100% of the space portion S, and thus narrow gaps Q can beprovided in the electrode non-formation region N. Accordingly, even whenthe dielectric pattern P is slightly displaced with respect to theinternal electrode patterns 112 and 113, the displacement is mitigatedby the gaps Q. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk ofoverlapping of the dielectric pattern P with the internal electrodepatterns 112 and 113.

Additionally, after the production, the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10is packaged as a package 100 with the first flat region F1 being facedupward in the Z-axis direction and with the second flat region F2 beingfaced downward in the Z-axis direction. Accordingly, a mounting step oftaking the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 out of the package 100 andmounting the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 to an electronic devicecan be smoothly performed.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the package 100 and a method ofmounting the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 will be described indetail.

4. CONFIGURATION OF PACKAGE 100 FOR MULTI-LAYER CERAMIC CAPACITOR 10

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the package 100 for the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the D-D′line in FIG. 13. It should be noted that the configuration of thepackage 100 according to this embodiment is not limited to theconfiguration shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.

For example, the package 100 is long in the Y-axis direction, has apredetermined depth in the Z-axis direction, and houses a plurality ofmulti-layer ceramic capacitors 10.

The package 100 includes a housing portion 110, a sealing portion 120,and a plurality of multi-layer ceramic capacitors 10.

The housing portion 110 includes a plurality of recesses 110 a formed atpredetermined intervals along the Y-axis direction.

The housing portion 110 is typically a carrier tape, but it may be achip tray in which the recesses 110 a that house the multi-layer ceramiccapacitors 10 are arranged in a lattice pattern, for example. Further, amaterial forming the housing portion 110 is also not particularlylimited, and a synthetic resin, paper, or the like can be used therefor.

The recess 110 a is formed downward from an upper surface 110 c of thehousing portion 110 in the Z-axis direction and has a size capable ofhousing each multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10. A take-out opening 110 bis formed on the upper surface 110 c side of the recess 110 a. Thetake-out opening 110 b is used when the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10is housed in the recess 110 a and taken out of the recess 110 a.

The sealing portion 120 is disposed on the housing portion 110 so as tobe capable of being peeled off. The sealing portion 120 is formed tocover the take-out openings 110 b of the recesses 110 a in the Z-axisdirection. The sealing portion 120 is typically a cover tape, but it isnot particularly limited as long as the sealing portion 120 is a membercapable of being peeled off from the housing portion 110 and having afunction of sealing the recesses 110 a. Further, the sealing portion 120may be made of the same type of material as that of the housing portion110 or may be made of a different material.

The multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 is housed in the recess 110 a withthe first flat region F1 being faced to the take-out opening 110 b side(upward in the Z-axis direction) and with the second flat region F2being faced to the bottom surface 110 d side of the recess 110 a(downward in the Z-axis direction). It is favorable that the first flatregion F1 on the take-out opening 110 b side is formed such that thewidth dimension Wf is 80% or more and less than 100% of the widthdimension W of the ceramic body 11. It is favorable that the second flatregion F2 on the bottom surface 110 d side of the recess 110 a is formedsuch that the length dimension Lf in the X-axis direction is 80% or moreand less than 100% of the length dimension L of the ceramic body 11.

5. METHOD OF MOUNTING MULTI-LAYER CERAMIC CAPACITOR 10

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a step ofmounting the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10, which shows a crosssection corresponding to FIG. 14. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of amulti-layer ceramic capacitor mounting substrate (mounting substrate)200, onto which the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 is mounted, whenviewed in the Y-axis direction. FIG. 17 is a side view of the mountingsubstrate 200 when viewed in the X-axis direction.

The multi-layer ceramic capacitors 10 are taken out of the package 100one by one and are mounted onto a circuit board 210 of an electronicdevice. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to FIGS.15 and 17.

First, the sealing portion 120 is peeled off from the housing portion110. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 15, the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10 is taken out through the take-out opening 110 b of thepackage 100 by using a suction nozzle M of a chip mounter. The suctionnozzle M holds the first flat region F1 by suction from above in theZ-axis direction, the first flat region F1 being faced to the take-outopening 110 b side.

The suction nozzle M moves the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 onto thecircuit board 210 while keeping suction of the first flat region F1. Thesuction nozzle M disposes the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 at apredetermined position on the circuit board 210, and then releases thesuction. At that time as well, the first flat region F1 is faced upwardin the Z-axis direction, and the second flat region F2 is faced downwardin the Z-axis direction.

Subsequently, the first and second external electrodes 14 and 15 of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10 and the circuit board 210 are bonded toeach other in the Z-axis direction by solder H or the like, and thus amounting substrate 200 onto which the multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponent 10 is mounted is formed as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17.

Also in the mounting substrate 200, the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10is mounted with the first flat region F1 being faced upward in theZ-axis direction and with the second flat region F2 being faced downwardin the Z-axis direction. In other words, in the mounting substrate 200,the second flat region F2 faces the circuit board 210 in the Z-axisdirection.

Here, if the dielectric pattern is not formed to have the volumeoccupying 75% or more and less than 100% of the space portion, as in amulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10′ shown in FIG. 18, the center portionsof main surfaces 11′e and 11′f of a ceramic body 11′ are curvedsurfaces. In this case, a gap is generated between the tip of thesuction nozzle M and the main surface of the ceramic body, and thesuction by the suction nozzle M becomes insufficient. Therefore, thereis a possibility that a failure, such as the difficulty of performingsuction of the main surface of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor or thedrop of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor in the process of transfer,occurs in the mounting step. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 18, thereis a possibility that the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10′ losesbalance when disposed on the circuit board 210, and the multi-layerceramic capacitor 10′ is bonded to the circuit board 210 at a largeinclined angle.

In this embodiment, the first flat region F1 and the second flat regionF2 are respectively formed on the main surfaces 11 e and 11 f of theceramic body 11, and the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10 is packagedwith the first flat region F1 and the second flat region F2 being facedupward and downward in the Z-axis direction. Accordingly, the tip of thesuction nozzle M and the first flat region F1 of the ceramic body 11come into close contact with each other, and thus the suction nozzle Mcan stably perform suction of the first flat region F1. Therefore, it ispossible to inhibit failures from occurring at the time of suction bythe suction nozzle M and to smoothly mount the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10.

Additionally, the second flat region F2 is formed in the main surface 11f on the circuit board 210 side, and thus the surfaces of the first andsecond external electrodes 14 and 15 facing the circuit board 210 arealso formed to be substantially flat. Accordingly, the posture of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10 when bonded to the circuit board 210 bythe solder H or the like can be stabilized, and the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10 can be inhibited from being bonded to the circuit board 210at an inclined angle. Therefore, on the circuit board 210, themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10 can be inhibited from coming intocontact with an adjacent electronic component, and the multi-layerceramic capacitor 10 and another electronic component can be mounted athigh density. Further, occurrence of a chip standing phenomenon(Tombstone phenomenon) in which one of the external electrodes separatesfrom a land pattern of the circuit board can be suppressed, and failurescan be more reliably inhibited from occurring at the time of mounting.

FIG. 19 is a side view showing a configuration example of the mountingsubstrate 200 including a plurality of multi-layer ceramic capacitors 10mounted onto the circuit board 210.

As shown in FIG. 19, in a case where a plurality of multi-layer ceramiccapacitors 10 are disposed onto a single circuit board 210, themulti-layer ceramic capacitors 10 can be mounted along the Y-axisdirection at intervals R, each of which is 30% or less of the widthdimension W of the ceramic body 11. Accordingly, the plurality ofmulti-layer ceramic capacitors 10 can be mounted onto the circuit board210 at high density, and a highly-functional and space-saving mountingsubstrate 200 can be achieved. It should be noted that the interval R isan interval of the narrowest portion between the multi-layer ceramiccapacitors 10 adjacent to each other in the Y-axis direction.

Further, in the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10, the height dimension Tof the ceramic body 11 is set to be 1.1 times or more and 1.6 times orless the width dimension W thereof. Thus, the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10 can keep the balance thereof even if the height dimension Tis larger than the width dimension W. Accordingly, in the recess 110 aof the package 100 or in the mounting step, the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10 can be inhibited from falling down and can be handled at aposture at which the height direction of the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor 10 coincides with the Z-axis direction. This also allows themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10 to be smoothly mounted.

Additionally, setting the length dimension L of the ceramic body 11 tobe larger than 1.0 times and equal to or smaller than 1.5 times theheight dimension T also enables the balance of the ceramic body 11 to bekept. Therefore, handleability at the time of mounting of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10 can be more improved.

In such a manner, according to the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10, afailure caused at the time of mounting can be inhibited from occurringeven if the number of laminated first and second internal electrodes 12and 13 is increased, and thus the capacitance can be increased withoutchanging the mounting area. Therefore, it is possible to achieve themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10 having a large capacitance and capableof contributing to reduction in size of the electronic device.

6. EXAMPLES AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES

As Examples and Comparative examples of this embodiment, samples of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor 10 were produced by the production methoddescribed above, and the shape, a suction rate of the suction nozzle M,and a mounting failure rate were investigated.

First, samples (Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative examples 1 and 2) of themulti-layer ceramic capacitor were produced. The samples had threesizes: a first size having a length dimension (L) of 0.69 mm, a widthdimension (W) of 0.39 mm, and a height dimension (T) of 0.55 mm; asecond size having a length dimension (L) of 1.15 mm, a width dimension(W) of 0.65 mm, and a height dimension (T) of 1.00 mm; and a third sizehaving a length dimension (L) of 1.20 mm, a width dimension (W) of 0.75mm, and a height dimension (T) of 0.85 mm. In other words, a ratio ofthe length dimension to the height dimension (L/T) was 1.15 to 1.41, anda ratio of the height dimension to the width dimension (T/W) was 1.13 to1.54. Further, in the following evaluation, 100 samples for each of thethree sizes for each of Examples and Comparative examples, i.e., 1,500samples in total were used.

In each of the samples of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative example 1, adielectric pattern was formed. Table 1 shows a volume ratio of thedielectric pattern to the volume of the space portion (space occupancyrate), the volume of the space portion being obtained by multiplying thearea of the electrode non-formation region by the thickness of theinternal electrode pattern. It should be noted that a value of the spaceoccupancy rate shown in Table 1 was a mean value of the 300 samples foreach of Examples and Comparative examples.

The space occupancy rate was 95% in Example 1, 90% in Example 2, and 75%in Example 3, all of which were 75% or more and less than 100%.Meanwhile, in Comparative example 1, the space occupancy rate was 50%.In Comparative example 2, the space occupancy rate was 0% because thedielectric pattern was not formed.

TABLE 1 Space occupancy Mounting rate Wf/W Lf/L Suction rate failurerate Example 1 95% 85% 92% 99% 1% Example 2 90% 83% 90% 99% 1% Example 375% 82% 89% 99% 1% Comparative 50% 65% 79% 92% 5% example 1 Comparative 0% 35% 65% 85% 9% example 2

Further, a proportion (Wf/W) of the width dimension (Wf) of one of theflat regions to the width dimension (W) of the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor, and a proportion (Lf/L) of the length dimension (Lf) of theother flat region to the length dimension (L) of the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor were measured. Table 1 shows the results of the measurement.It should be noted that a value of the proportion of the width dimensionand a value of the proportion of the length dimension, which are shownin Table 1, were each a mean value of the 300 samples for each ofExamples and Comparative examples. Further, for the value of theproportion of the width dimension in each sample, a value of theproportion of the width dimension of the flat region of an optional oneof the two main surfaces of each sample was employed. For the value ofthe proportion of the length dimension in each sample, a value of theproportion of the length dimension of the flat region of the other mainsurface of each sample was employed.

The proportion of the width dimension was 85% in Example 1, 83% inExample 2, and 82% in Example 3, all of which were 80% or more inExamples 1 to 3. Meanwhile, the proportion of the width dimension was65% in Comparative example 1, and 35% in Comparative example 2, all ofwhich were less than 80%.

Further, the proportion of the length dimension was 92% in Example 1,90% in Example 2, and 89% in Example 3, all of which were 80% or more inExamples 1 to 3. Meanwhile, the proportion of the length dimension was79% in Comparative example 1, and 65% in Comparative example 2, all ofwhich were less than 80%.

The proportion (Wf/W) of the width dimension and the proportion (Lf/L)of the length dimension each showed a positive relationship with thespace occupancy rate of the dielectric pattern. Specifically, inExamples 1 to 3 in which the space occupancy rate was 75% or more andless than 100%, each of the Wf/W and the Lf/L was 80% or more in eachexample. However, in Comparative examples 1 and 2 in which the spaceoccupancy rate was 50% or less, each of the Wf/W and the Lf/L was lessthan 80% in each example. From those results, it was confirmed that whenthe space occupancy rate of the dielectric pattern is set to 75% or moreand less than 100%, the flat regions can be formed such that theproportion of the width dimension and the proportion of the lengthdimension are 80% or more.

Subsequently, a housing portion including recesses in a package wasprepared, and each sample was housed in the recess with a main surfacebeing faced to the take-out opening side, the main surface including aflat region having a larger proportion of the width dimension. The mainsurface of each sample on the take-out opening side was tried to besucked by a suction nozzle of a chip mounter. In the 300 samples of eachof Examples and Comparative Examples, a proportion of the samples whosemain surfaces could be sucked by the suction nozzle was calculated as a“suction rate”. Table 1 shows the results thereof.

As shown in Table 1, it was confirmed that the suction rate is 99% inall of Examples 1 to 3, and almost all of the samples can be sucked bythe suction nozzle and have optimal handleability at the time ofmounting. Meanwhile, the suction rate was 92% in Comparative example 1and 85% in Comparative example 2, in which the suction failed inapproximately 10 to 20% of the samples. Accordingly, it was confirmedthat the handleability at the time of mounting in Comparative examples 1and 2 is inferior to that in Examples 1 to 3.

Next, solder cream was printed on land patterns provided on the circuitboard at intervals of 20% of the width dimension. The samples that couldbe sucked by the suction nozzle were disposed on the land patterns, andsoldering was performed in a reflow furnace. In each of Examples andComparative Examples, a proportion of samples, in which contact withadjacent components or separation from one of the land patterns due tothe Tombstone phenomenon was confirmed, to the samples that could besucked by the suction nozzle and disposed onto a circuit board, wascalculated as a “mounting failure rate”. Table 1 shows the resultsthereof.

As shown in Table 1, it was confirmed that the mounting failure rate is1% in all of Examples 1 to 3, and good mounting is enabled in almost allof the samples. On the other hand, a mounting failure occurred and was5% in Comparative example 1 and 9% in Comparative example 2.Accordingly, it was confirmed that the handleability at the time ofmounting in Comparative examples 1 and 2 is inferior to that in Examples1 to 3.

7. OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Hereinabobve, the embodiment of the present disclosure has beendescribed, but the present disclosure is not limited to the embodimentdescribed above, and it should be appreciated that the presentdisclosure may be variously modified without departing from the gist ofthe present disclosure. For example, the embodiment of the presentdisclosure can be an embodiment in which some embodiments are combined.

For example, in the multi-layer ceramic capacitor 10, the multi-layerunit 16 may be divided into a plurality of multi-layer units 16 and thendisposed in the Z-axis direction. In this case, in each multi-layer unit16, the first and second internal electrodes 12 and 13 only need to bealternately disposed along the Z-axis direction, and the first internalelectrodes 12 or the second internal electrodes 13 may be consecutivelydisposed at portions where the multi-layer units 16 are adjacent to eachother.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the multi-layer ceramiccapacitor has been described as an example of a ceramic electroniccomponent, but the present disclosure can be applied to any othermulti-layer ceramic electronic components in which paired internalelectrodes are alternately disposed. Examples of such multi-layerceramic electronic components include a piezoelectric element

What is claimed is:
 1. A multi-layer ceramic electronic component,comprising: a ceramic body that includes internal electrodes laminatedin a first direction, a first main surface including a first flat regionfacing in the first direction, and a second main surface including asecond flat region, the second flat region being on a side opposite tothe first flat region and facing in the first direction; and a pair ofexternal electrodes connected to the internal electrodes and facing eachother in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, adimension of the ceramic body in the first direction being 1.1 times ormore and 1.6 times or less a dimension of the ceramic body in a thirddirection orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction,the first flat region being formed at a center portion of the first mainsurface in the second direction, the second flat region being formed ata center portion of the second main surface in the third direction, andwherein a dimension of the first flat region in the third direction is80% or more and less than 100% of the dimension of the ceramic body inthe third direction.
 2. The multi-layer ceramic electronic componentaccording to claim 1, wherein a dimension of the second flat region inthe second direction is 80% or more and less than 100% of a dimension ofthe ceramic body in the second direction.
 3. The multi-layer ceramicelectronic component according to claim 1, wherein when a firstimaginary line and a second imaginary line are defined on a crosssection of the ceramic body in the first direction and the thirddirection, the first imaginary line passing through a center point ofthe first main surface in the third direction and orthogonallyintersecting with the first direction, the second imaginary line beingparallel to the first imaginary line and having an interval from thefirst imaginary line; the interval being 1% of the dimension of theceramic body in the first direction, the first flat region includes aregion between two points at which the second imaginary line and thefirst main surface intersect with each other, and when a third imaginaryline and a fourth imaginary line are defined on a cross section of theceramic body in the first direction and the second direction, the thirdimaginary line passing through a center point of the second main surfacein the second direction and orthogonally intersecting with the firstdirection, the fourth imaginary line being parallel to the thirdimaginary line and having an interval from the third imaginary line, theinterval being 1% of the dimension of the ceramic body in the firstdirection, the second flat region includes a region between two pointsat which the fourth imaginary line and the second main surface intersectwith each other.
 4. A multi-layer ceramic electronic component mountingsubstrate, comprising: a circuit board; and a multi-layer ceramicelectronic component including a ceramic body including internalelectrodes laminated in a first direction, and a pair of externalelectrodes connected to the internal electrodes and facing each other ina second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the multi-layerceramic electronic component being mounted onto the circuit board viathe pair of external electrodes, a dimension of the ceramic body in thefirst direction being 1.1 times or more and 1.6 times or less adimension of the ceramic body in a third direction orthogonal to thefirst direction and the second direction, the ceramic body including afirst main surface including a first flat region facing in the firstdirection, and a second main surface including a second flat region, thesecond flat region being on a side opposite to the first flat region andfacing in the first direction, the first flat region being formed at acenter portion of the first main surface in the second direction, thesecond flat region being formed at a center portion of the second mainsurface in the third direction, the multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponent being mounted onto the circuit board such that the second flatregion faces the circuit board in the first direction and that the firstflat region faces upward in the first direction, and wherein a dimensionof the first flat region in the third direction is 80% or more and lessthan 100% of the dimension of the ceramic body in the third direction.5. The multi-layer ceramic electronic component mounting substrateaccording to claim 4, further comprising multi-layer ceramic electroniccomponents each including the ceramic body, and the pair of externalelectrodes, the multi-layer ceramic electronic components being to bemounted onto the circuit board along the third direction at intervals of30% or less of the dimension of the ceramic body in the third direction.6. The multi-layer ceramic electronic component mounting substrateaccording to claim 4, wherein when a first imaginary line and a secondimaginary line are defined on a cross section of the ceramic body in thefirst direction and the third direction, the first imaginary linepassing through a center point of the first main surface in the thirddirection and orthogonally intersecting with the first direction, thesecond imaginary line being parallel to the first imaginary line andhaving an interval from the first imaginary line, the interval being 1%of the dimension of the ceramic body in the first direction, the firstflat region includes a region between two points at which the secondimaginary line and the first main surface intersect with each other, andwhen a third imaginary line and a fourth imaginary line are defined on across section of the ceramic body in the first direction and the seconddirection, the third imaginary line passing through a center point ofthe second main surface in the second direction and orthogonallyintersecting with the first direction, the fourth imaginary line beingparallel to the third imaginary line and having an interval from thethird imaginary line, the interval being 1% of the dimension of theceramic body in the first direction, the second flat region includes aregion between two points at which the fourth imaginary line and thesecond main surface intersect with each other.
 7. The multi-layerceramic electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the dimensionof the first flat region in the third direction is 82% or more and lessthan 100% of the dimension of the ceramic body in the third direction.8. The multi-layer ceramic electronic component according to claim 2,wherein the dimension of the second flat region in the second directionis 89% or more and less than 100% of a dimension of the ceramic body inthe second direction.
 9. The multi-layer ceramic electronic componentmounting substrate according to claim 4, wherein the dimension of thefirst flat region in the third direction is 82% or more and less than100% of the dimension of the ceramic body in the third direction. 10.The multi-layer ceramic electronic component mounting substrateaccording to claim 4, wherein a dimension of the second flat region inthe second direction is 80% or more and less than 100% of a dimension ofthe ceramic body in the second direction.
 11. The multi-layer ceramicelectronic component mounting substrate according to claim 10, whereinthe dimension of the second flat region in the second direction is 89%or more and less than 100% of the dimension of the ceramic body in thesecond direction.
 12. A multi-layer ceramic electronic component,comprising: a ceramic body that includes internal electrodes laminatedin a first direction, a first main surface including a first flat regionfacing in the first direction, and a second main surface including asecond flat region, the second flat region being on a side opposite tothe first flat region and facing in the first direction; and a pair ofexternal electrodes connected to the internal electrodes and facing eachother in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, adimension of the ceramic body in the first direction being 1.1 times ormore and 1.6 times or less a dimension of the ceramic body in a thirddirection orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction,the first flat region being formed at a center portion of the first mainsurface in the second direction, the second flat region being formed ata center portion of the second main surface in the third direction,wherein when a first imaginary line and a second imaginary line aredefined on a cross section of the ceramic body in the first directionand the third direction, the first imaginary line passing through acenter point of the first main surface in the third direction andorthogonally intersecting with the first direction, the second imaginaryline being parallel to the first imaginary line and having an intervalfrom the first imaginary line, the interval being 1% of the dimension ofthe ceramic body in the first direction, the first flat region includesa region between two points at which the second imaginary line and thefirst main surface intersect with each other, and when a third imaginaryline and a fourth imaginary line are defined on a cross section of theceramic body in the first direction and the second direction, the thirdimaginary line passing through a center point of the second main surfacein the second direction and orthogonally intersecting with the firstdirection, the fourth imaginary line being parallel to the thirdimaginary line and having an interval from the third imaginary line, theinterval being 1% of the dimension of the ceramic body in the firstdirection, the second flat region includes a region between two pointsat which the fourth imaginary line and the second main surface intersectwith each other.
 13. The multi-layer ceramic electronic componentaccording to claim 12, wherein a dimension of the first flat region inthe third direction is 82% or more and less than 100% of the dimensionof the ceramic body in the third direction.
 14. The multi-layer ceramicelectronic component according to claim 12, wherein a dimension of thesecond flat region in the second direction is 80% or more and less than100% of a dimension of the ceramic body in the second direction.
 15. Themulti-layer ceramic electronic component according to claim 14, whereinthe dimension of the second flat region in the second direction is 89%or more and less than 100% of the dimension of the ceramic body in thesecond direction.